APRIL 19-26, 2010, AS DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN CALIFORNIA

States News Service
April 19, 2010 Monday
SACRAMENTO

The following information was released by the office of the Governor
of California:

Governor of the State of California

It is important to remember the horrors of the past in order to keep
history from repeating itself. The Armenian Genocide was a terrible
breach of human rights and an event that has outraged the world.

Between 1915 and 1923, 1.5 million innocent Armenians lost their lives
at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, and 500,000 more were forced from
their homeland.

The atrocities carried out against the Armenian people were grave
and unimaginable, as they were subjected to deportation, abduction,
torture, starvation and more. And as with any violent conflict,
Armenian women and children suffered the worst abuses. The bulk of the
Armenian population that was displaced from their homes was forced
to escape to neighboring as well as faraway countries. Many fled to
the United States.

Today, California is honored to be home to a vibrant Armenian-American
population, the largest outside the Republic of Armenia. This thriving
community is a proud reminder of survival and determination even in
the face of extreme injustice.

As Americans and Californians, it is our duty to raise awareness
of the Armenian Genocide and to participate in the remembrance and
mourning of the loss of innocent lives.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER , Governor of the State
of California, do hereby proclaim April 19-26, 2010, as Days of
Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great
Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 8th day of April
2010.